as in to tease
to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults
the principal reminded the student athletes that taunting their opponents was not showing good sportsmanship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in jeer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of taunt
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
According to Carranza, another student was taunting her daughter, saying that her family would be deported, and Jocelynn would be left alone.
—Ed Lavandera, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 14 Feb. 2025
The negotiation to unlock it goes nowhere, turning into a volley of crude taunts.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for taunt
Verb
Goliath was a character who taunted and terrified the entire army of Israel for 40 days.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
According to Carranza, another student was taunting her daughter, saying that her family would be deported, and Jocelynn would be left alone.
—Ed Lavandera, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
Noun
Last fall, for example, the OCR concluded that a rural Pennsylvania school district had failed to protect Black students from racist taunts and harassment by a group of white students.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 14 Feb. 2025
The negotiation to unlock it goes nowhere, turning into a volley of crude taunts.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for taunt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taunt
Verb
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DeVito first teased a potential reunion with Schwarzenegger in November 2023.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
12 Mar. 2025
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Fan favorites from that series will make their way into Everybody’s Live, the streamer teased.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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At the same meeting, the city attorney tendered his resignation and the mayor tried to end the meeting by threatening to walk out — all to a chorus of snarky comments and jeers of irate residents.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2025
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The jeers were understood to have been in response to Venus withdrawing injured from the semifinal against Serena.—
Manasi Pathak,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The plans, mocked up by Populous, include a sky bar overlooking the pitch, a stadium roof-walk experience, a 3,000-capacity fan zone, a 400-bed hotel (part of the Radisson group), a new club shop and museum.—
Tom Burrows,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
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Social media trends come and go, but one craze that appears to have outstayed its welcome is the desire to mock millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996).—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Acacia had some trouble initially with her recording—which led to sneers from her fellow queens—but eventually found her voice for the final production.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
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Sandoval, in comparison, sneers and simpers to no success whatsoever; his bad behavior, on and off The Traitors, yields nothing.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The previous time Lilian had seen Imelda, who was sitting next to her in London, was ten years earlier, when her children were alive, but with some people mindless small talk would be an insult.—
Yiyun Li,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
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That’s because Trump’s approach isn’t just an insult to Zelensky but to Ukraine itself and its institution of national leadership.—
Illia Ponomarenko,
TIME,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The apparent diss follows Rocky’s recent legal victory over Relli, as he was found not guilty of felony assault charges, dodging a potential 24-year prison sentence.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
17 Mar. 2025
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Cave addressed the ubiquity of the diss in his open-forum fan Q&A, The Red Hand Files, on Wednesday.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But even some Republicans weren’t happy with the nasty gibe.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2025
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Trudeau, whose approval ratings were already on a decline before Trump took aim at Canada, was criticized by both liberal party allies and conservative adversaries for his tepid response to the president’s gibes and threats.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Sep. 2019
Noun
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The quip was delivered by the movie’s central figure, Alfred Moretti, played by actor John Malkovich.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
17 Mar. 2025
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Apparently, the world No. 2 didn’t take kindly to the quip.—
Ben Church,
CNN,
14 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to taunt
Cite this Entry
“Taunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taunt. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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